The Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust has declared that it has found 98 kg of gold and jewellery, 307 kg of silver articles and Rs. 11.56 crore in cash in Yajur Mandir, the private chambers of Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
R.J. Ratnakar, nephew of Sai Baba and member of the trust, said in a release that Yajur Mandir was opened for preparing an inventory of the valuables in it. All trust members and two eminent judges — Justice A.P Mishra, a former judge of the Supreme Court of India, and Justice R.G. Vaidyanatha, a retired judge of the Karnataka High Court — were present when it was opened after the keys were obtained from a locker in the State Bank of India branch in Prashanthi Nilayam.
Transparent process
To make the process as transparent as possible, an assessor approved by the Income Tax Department was present, and he valued the gold and silver articles on the premises. The cash was duly counted and deposited in the bank account of the trust in the SBI branch in Prasanthi Nilayam, the release said.
It is not yet clear what is done with the gold and silver ornaments. But it is believed that they would also be deposited in the bank, in a separate account to be opened by the trust for the purpose.
